Speaker background

A graduate of Makerere University in Kampala and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, Orem has conducted research on HHV-8 replication and progression in Africa and antiretroviral therapy in Ugandans infected with HHV-8, as well as multiple studies on Burkitt lymphoma. Orem is the scientific co-director of the Uganda Program on Cancer and Infectious Diseases (UPCID) and an honorary lecturer in oncology at Makerere University.

While Orem's research interests include epidemiology, pathogenesis, prevention and therapeutic strategies of Burkitt lymphoma, he is best known for his research in infection-related cancers, in particular his groundbreaking role in advancing the understanding and treatment of HIV-associated malignancies.

In 2009 Orem participated in the first successful clinical trial ever conducted on the African continent to explore the utility of dose-modified oral chemotherapy for AIDS-related non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Researchers found that dose-modified oral chemotherapy is safe, efficacious and pragmatic in sub-Saharan Africa and outcomes are comparable to those in the U.S. Such research is particularly significant in countries like Uganda that have high numbers of people with HIV and are therefore disproportionately affected by infection-related cancers. While many HIV-positive individuals are benefitting from programs that have improved access to antiretroviral therapy, they are succumbing to malignancies such as Kaposi sarcoma, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas.